


One day at a time

by Vexor



Category: Twenty One Pilots
Genre: (still legal tho), Age Difference, Alternate Universe - No Band, Fluff, M/M, Maybe soon to be smut, Non-Binary Tyler, Older Josh, They still love music, Younger Tyler, and they were ROOMMATES, highschool, joshler - Freeform, kicked out of home, oh my god they were roommates, slowburn
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-05-11
Updated: 2020-05-11
Packaged: 2021-03-02 20:40:51
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,974
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24132988
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Vexor/pseuds/Vexor
Summary: Non-binary Tyler gets kicked out of their home.In a whirlwind of emotion, they escape to a bar where one of their friends is working.Will this be the choice that saves their life?(read to find out)(*NOT CLICKBAIT* *MAYBE GONE SEXUAL*)
Relationships: Josh Dun/Tyler Joseph
Comments: 1
Kudos: 6





	One day at a time

**Author's Note:**

> So this is a late-night idea that I decided to put into words because I don't see enough non-binary Ty so I decided to give it a try. This is not beta-read and if you find any mistakes or inaccuracies please do tell me! thank you and I hope you enjoy it!

It had taken a lot of courage for Tyler to finally come out, but they had done it. Their family didn’t take it too well being such a strict Christian household. Tyler themselves didn’t always believe in the existence of God, and if there was a higher power then why was Tyler being kicked out of their home?

It was a rainy evening in May, not too cold yet still not warm enough to sit on the front porch of a house with a short-sleeved top they had nabbed from their sister Madison a few weeks before. Wearing clothes that were usually perceived as more feminine was common for Tyler even if they did keep it more on the down-low usually. This wasn’t an ideal situation for the young teen yet somehow they were not surprised they ended up in such a situation. Their family was never too accepting of the things that were even a tad bit out of the ordinary. Dyed hair, piercings, tattoos, and all that were all off-limits with no questions allowed. 

The high school senior was now consequentially left homeless. With only one month of school left they didn’t worry too much, Tyler knew that their goal was to succeed with their music. That’s why the only things they grabbed were their ukulele along with a small bag of simple items like a clean change of clothes, a toothbrush, their phone charger, and other necessities. The bag had been pre-packed in case of this exact situation. Yet somehow Tyler didn’t plan ahead enough to actually decide what to do in case of getting kicked out.

[ ](https://www.flickr.com/photos/188430990@N04/49891077623/in/dateposted-public/)

The feelings of disappointment and sadness weighed heavily in Tyler's chest. It felt as if a boulder was cast upon them and now they had to carry the weight of it. Being the family outcast came with a price Tyler wasn't too sure they could pay. They wanted to escape from this horrid mix of feelings.

The only thing that came to mind was visiting a bar that was located a few blocks down. Tyler wasn’t of drinking age but that didn’t stop them from going to bars and clubs to have fun. The staff there knew him well so getting in wouldn’t be an issue. Tyler gathered their belongings and made haste to the bar since the rain started getting more violent by the second. 

The mentioned bar was more active than Tyler had expected. It was a casual Monday evening and there were around 10 people scattered around in the small space. It wasn’t the most popular club but it was Tyler’s favorite since it was one of the few LGBT+ advocating bars around. They hosted special events for people of the community and Tyler tried to take part in most of them. That’s how they got so close to the staff. 

“Hey, Tyler! Didn’t expect to see you here on a Monday night” Debby greeted them with a smile.

“Yeah… Well I broke the news to my folks and as you can see they didn’t really take it well”

Tyler tried to smile but it ended up looking lopsided and awkward as they lifted their hands to show their belongings. Their whole body being absolutely drenched in rain didn’t help in trying to make the smile believable. 

“Oh Tyler, I’m so sorry!” Debby leaned in to hug the soaking teen.

“Thanks, Deb. It’s okay though, not like I was happy living there anyways.” Tears started welling up in Tyler’s eyes as a small sniffle escaped his nose.  
“Here let me get you a towel, sit down by the bar I’ll be back with you in a sec” Debby rushed off to the staff room.

Tyler sat down at their usual spot near the entrance and gently placed their ukulele case down by the stool. While placing their backpack down on the floor next to the instrument Tyler scoped out the room to see if there were any familiar faces. Yet no one seemed to pique their interest, today really wasn’t their day. Thankfully Debby swooped in to brighten everything up. 

She handed Tyler a bar towel that had hopefully not been used. They used it to dry themselves off. Tyler felt much better as soon as the water from their hair stopped dripping on to their face.

“So Tyler, did they uh... fully kick you out?” Debby was a bit awkward but that was understandable given the situation at hand.

“Yeah, they did. Now I kind of don’t have anywhere to stay” Tyler wasn’t baiting Debby to let them stay at her place but deep down they were hoping that she’d suggest it.

“Ah shit Ty, that sucks ass. I wish I could help but I’m already living with a roommate and I don’t know if he’d be okay with you crashing at our place.” 

Debby was genuine and kind, that’s what Tyler liked about her. She was a promising student, taking extra acting classes on the side to get into her dream university, Northwestern University in Illinois. This was the last year she’d try getting in, if she’d fail again then Debby had promised Tyler that she’d give up on her acting dreams. Of course, Tyler was one of her main supporters and they knew how much it would mean to Debby if she would get in. Tyler smiled at her as best as he could.

“No It’s okay, I didn’t expect you to just let me barge into your home like that Debs” Tyler was good at hiding emotions, but Debby could always read them as easily as an open book.

“You know what Ty, I’ll just call him to ask” She started scrambling in her pocket to pull her cellphone out.

‘Debs, Debby no, you really don’t have to come on” Tyler tried stopping her and it seemed to have worked since she put the phone down.

Tyler was a bit confused at first but still, let out a sigh of relief. The last thing they wanted to be was a burden on their friends. But then Tyler noticed the smirk on Debby’s face. They looked up at her questioningly.

“Guess I won’t need to call him” Debby now looks over to a young man standing by the entrance of the bar.

He is the epitome of what Tyler’s parents hate. Dyed yellow hair, a pierced nose, and a tattoo sleeve. He looks like a casual punk, but that does just add to his attractiveness. Tyler’s always been into both girls, guys and everything in between but boy was this guy a sight. 

Debby and Tyler had been staring at him for quite a while now. The mystery roommate just waved his hand in front of them and said

“Hello? Why are you two staring at me?” He cocked his head slightly to the side.

“Josh! Just the guy I wanted to see” Debby beams at him and grabs Josh by the hand pulling him over towards Tyler.

“Wait what are you even doing here?” Debby questions him.

“Forgot the apartment keys so I wanted to ask you for yours, why did you want to see me?” he looks even more puzzled at this point.

“See my good friend Tyler here recently got kicked out of their home for being LGBT+ and we were wondering if they could crash at our place until summer right Ty?” Debby was now looking at Tyler.

“Yeah...Yeah but if I can’t that’s also okay I fully understand” Tyler shied away a bit, embarrassed by the request.

They never felt comfortable asking for things, especially from friends. Being needy or a moocher was never their aim and they wouldn’t want to be seen as that. Josh refusing the suggestion would be the best thing, yes, then Tyler wouldn’t have to be in debt to them for doing such a big thing so suddenly.

“Yeah that’s cool with me, give me the keys and I can take..” Tyler can see the man think for a bit as if trying to remember something, his eyebrows slightly knitted together and thumb against his lips. 

“Them?” Josh raises an eyebrow at Tyler.

“Yeah” Tyler smiled at the man in front of him, it was the first time someone got used to their pronouns so quickly, it was true euphoria.

“Yeah, Debby give me your keys and I can take them home” the yellow-haired man put an emphasis on the word “them”. Tyler wasn’t sure if it was for his own or for their sake.

Debby nodded and dashed back to the staff room to fetch her apartment keys. This left Josh and Tyler sitting alone together. A semi-awkward silence brewed between the two. Josh was the one to break the silence.

“Guessing your folks didn’t really take the news too well did they?” Josh laughed a bit to lighten the mood.

“Yeah, they are devout Christians so I don’t know what I really expected from them” Tyler shrugged a bit.

They were disappointed, but the feelings of sadness haven’t yet reached their heart. It will take quite some time for Tyer to process and accept all of the feelings that come with your parents pretty much disowning you. The feelings currently lingering were anger and despair but the overwhelming hollowness was encasing Tyler as a whole. They didn’t know what to feel at this point, after so much preparation that came with coming out they still weren’t prepared for this. Honestly, nothing in the world could have prepared them for this overwhelming feeling of emptiness.

Josh could see the distraught expression on his soon to be roommates face and decided the best course of action would be a friendly pat on the back.

“Hey, dude... Wait is calling you dude okay?” he seemed actually concerned as he tripped over the word “dude”.

Tyler laughed a bit, the tinge of sadness not leaving his voice as he looked at Josh. He seemed like a generally nice guy despite his rather harsh appearance. They wondered why the dude was even nice to them, they had only just met and he was letting them crash at their place? It was a tad bit suspicious but a friend of Debby’s was a friend of theirs.

“Yeah dude if fine, don’t worry” They smiled at Josh.

“Right, okay, just making sure not to offend you. So as I was saying, don’t think about it too much dude, you need to just chill now and process what you’re feeling” Josh patted Tylers back again.

It felt nice when someone cared enough to make sure they weren’t offending them. It wasn’t a common occurrence so it felt refreshing. This bar really did bring the best things into Tyler’s life. For now, they decided to trust Josh since he seemed like a generally nice guy. And him being their new roommate made it so they didn’t have much choice in the matter, the two of them had to learn how to get along and they were off to a great start.

Debby soon came back with the apartment keys in hand.

“You two can go back home, I still need to finish my shift” Debby beamed at the two of them. She was too kind for her own sake honestly.

“Thank you again so much you two, I wouldn’t know what I would have done if you wouldn’t have offered me your place…” Tyler looked down at the ground, they felt a tad ashamed for barging into their home and they just couldn’t shake that feeling off.

“It’s okay Tyler, don’t worry about it,” Josh said as he stretched his arm a bit.

It didn’t do much to quench Tyler’s anxiety and embarrassment, but it was a kind gesture nonetheless.

“Are you ready to go?” Josh looked Tyler up and down.

“Yeah, let’s go”


End file.
